I was a mentor, right out of college, at William Perry Elementary School, but the difference between me, Chantz Harley and KJ Flowe, who were mentors for a group of kids at William Perry this past year, is, they played in the College Football Playoff last month.
Whereas, I … write about football.
Advantage: the JMU Football guys.
“They look up to us like we’re like the pro team around here. We don’t have a pro team here, and they look up to JMU Football,” said Flowe, a sophomore cornerback at JMU, who was among a group of Dukes players who made regular treks, on off days during the 2025 season, to William Perry, totally on their own, to serve as mentors to WPES fourth- and fifth-graders.
It started with a bigger group of 10 JMU Football players visiting the school in Waynesboro in March.
One player, sophomore safety Tyler Brown, a top contributor in the Dukes’ secondary in 2025, made a connection with a fifth-grader that he felt could benefit from additional guidance.
After the JMU spring game, Brown and a group of teammates who had made the visit reached out to William Perry staff to work out the details of making regular visits to the school.
Brown, who has since transferred to Iowa, after a monster sophomore season in which he recorded 78 tackles, five pass breakups, two QB pressures, an INT and a sack, was among four who continued their mentorships through the summer and then the fall.
“This relationship has been very beneficial for our students. Spending time with these football players makes higher education and athletics more attainable and real,” said Adrien Paulson, the reading specialist at William Perry, who was the point person on the school staff for the JMU players.
Chantz Harley, a grad student who was a contributor at cornerback for the Dukes in 2025, said the players got together on their off days – Mondays – to get to William Perry at 9 a.m.
That commitment on their part – to get in the car early on a Monday morning on their off day – should signal to you that it wasn’t just the William Perry kids who got something out of the relationships forged over the past year.
“This actually gave me some more direction in my life. It inspired me to want to be a teacher, because I see how much of a necessity it is. It was just so fulfilling,” said Harley, who also played at Villanova and Maryland before transferring to JMU for the spring 2025 semester.
“One of the students, who I still talk to every few days, he was like, when are you going to come back to see me? I mean, that means a lot,” Harley said.
“It’s just a blessing to be in this position, you know, for God to give me these abilities, to be able to play college sports, and for someone to look up to me, it’s just a blessing, it’s really wholesome and fulfilling. To be important to somebody like that is just a blessing. I do not take it lightly at all.”
Flowe, with an eye on getting ready for his junior season with a new head coach, Billy Napier, a new coaching and support staff, and 56 new teammates, is already thinking about the upcoming fall season in one key respect.
ICYMI
“Hopefully, we can get some of the kids to a game, because I know a couple of them came to the spring game last year,” said Flowe, who, when I told him about Harley telling me that he is thinking about getting into teaching, seemed to light up at hearing that news.
“Somebody asked me, like, two days ago, what I wanted to do, and I said I wanted to be a PE teacher, and just, like, give back to kids. So, that’s awesome that Chantz said that, too,” Flowe said.
Per Paulson, the JMU players have a good head start, if they end up going in the direction of education.
“The players also help students set achievable goals for the year. These mentors have modeled positive behavior, discipline, resilience and teamwork, values that are reinforced both in school and in life. Our students have shown an increase in motivation, confidence and engagement,” Paulson said.
For Harley, who is done with football, the Mondays at William Perry will be a big part of his memories of a season that included JMU’s first-ever appearance in the CFP.
“This program, and the love from the fans, you know, the winning and all that, you can’t put a price tag on that. Just the relationships I built, like these guys on this team, I’ll be friends with forever. Miss Paulson, I’m going to be friends with, you know, we’re going to be in contact. I’ll be going back to Harrisonburg to see her and the kid I helped mentor, and just to see my buddies again, because that’s how important this was to me,” Harley said.
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Chris Graham
